


Claret

by Kaatyr



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Adult Themes, Alternate Universe, M/M, One Shot, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:26:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaatyr/pseuds/Kaatyr
Summary: Months of dancing around the subject, of using every other name except the right one, careful of curious eyes. Lucilfer had been incredibly cautious, so cautious that Leorio had been constantly afraid of making a small slip-up, something seemingly inconsequential, but something that would send his quarry scurrying back to his rat nest. The thought of his goal slipping through his fingers made him nauseous. He was so, so close.Leorio and Chrollo complete a transaction.
Kudos: 3





	Claret

“Please take a seat, Mr Paladiknight. Mr Lucilfer will be with you in just a moment.”

Leorio sat down in a comfortable-looking black armchair and the smartly-dressed butler poured him a glass of wine. The butler set the glass down on the small table next to the armchair before taking his leave.

Leorio didn’t touch the glass of white wine. He disliked wine, as a general preference. He scanned the room critically, noting the expensive paintings and hangings on the walls, and the spotless, high-quality finish on the furniture. Everything in here screamed of refined taste and wealth. It left a bad taste in Leorio’s mouth.

Appearances aside, the man Leorio was about to meet was as rotten as they came.

Leorio wasn’t left waiting long. Lucilfer entered the room minutes later, polite smile on his handsome face. Leorio stood to greet him, pasting a smile onto his own face.

“Good evening, Mr Paladiknight. Thank you for coming,” Lucilfer said, shaking his hand. “I hope it isn’t too far out of your way.”

“Not at all,” Leorio lied. He would have come, no matter how far he had to travel. His goal was so close he felt that he could almost smell it.

The blank-faced butler trailed Lucilfer in, and provided his employer with a glass of wine as well before leaving the room. Leorio noticed that Lucilfer’s wine was blood-red. He felt his stomach churn at the sight.

They both settled, facing each other across a distance of barely a meter. Lucilfer looked very comfortable, but Leorio sat stiffly, unable to entirely hide his anxiety. Hopefully, he could write it off as perfectly natural nerves. Lucilfer was a very important and influential man in the government, after all. It was natural for Leorio to feel nervous about meeting him.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve made you come all the way out of the city for this,” Lucilfer said. “I prefer to conduct such dealings away from the bustle of the metropolitan areas. Too many eyes lurking around corners.”

Leorio nodded in understanding. “That seems like a wise precaution,” he agreed.

“My staff have already confirmed the receipt of payment,” Lucilfer stated, his smile still genial as he sipped from his glass. Of course he’d be genial with the number of zeros that Leorio had just dropped into his bank account that day. “That just leaves the matter of the merchandise,” Lucilfer added.

‘Merchandise’. A bitter taste flooded Leorio’s mouth.

“We’ve discussed the claret at length already, but do you have any more questions?” Lucilfer asked.

“The only thing that concerns me is the condition,” Leorio said, choosing to take a chance. If he seemed too eager, Lucilfer might become suspicious. Yet there was a risk that too much hesitation would also spook Lucilfer. “I know these things can... spoil quickly,” Leorio finished uneasily. He didn’t share Lucilfer’s talent with words.

Months of dancing around the subject, of using every other name except the right one, careful of curious eyes. Lucilfer had been incredibly cautious, so cautious that Leorio had been constantly afraid of making a small slip-up, something seemingly inconsequential, but something that would send his quarry scurrying back to his rat nest. The thought of his goal slipping through his fingers made him nauseous. He was so, so close.

“Yes, but I assure you, it is in perfect condition. As perfect as anyone could reasonably ask for, anyway,” Lucilfer assured his guest. “I think it will suit your palette well.”

“From what you’ve already shown me, I’m sure it will,” Leorio agreed.

Lucilfer picked up a small bell that had been sitting on the table next to his armchair. He shook it, and a soft, delicate jingling met Leorio’s ears. The butler re-entered the room a second later, but he wasn’t alone.

Leorio’s breath hitched in his throat as he saw the short, skinny figure accompanying the butler. It was unmistakably a young man, his nakedness leaving no doubt of that. His head was lowered, eyes on the floor as he paused next to the butler. The butler gripped a red leather leash in his hand. He passed it to Lucilfer before leaving the room.

“As you can see, there’s nothing defective about him. He’s very well behaved, and in excellent physical condition. I’ve had him since he was about five or so,” Lucilfer explained. “I’ve kept him for longer than i usually would, but it’s time for a change.”

Leorio swept his eyes up and down the form, noting every dip and curve of his body. He’d seen it all before online, in the videos and photos posted on porn websites, and later in the media that Lucilfer sent him when Leorio had answered his ad on the dark net auction site—but seeing the young man in person was a completely different experience.

Lucilfer lightly slapped the man’s thigh. “Look up, Kurapika,” he ordered, his voice harsh for the first time in Leorio’s presence.

The man flinched, but lifted his face. He didn’t look directly at Leorio, but Leorio could see his eyes flicking toward him, then away, then back toward him. Tension curled tight in every muscle on his slender body.

His eyes were stunning. The rich red colour was bewitching. Leorio felt that he could pass hours just staring into them, and not feel bored in the slightest.

“I thought about having his eyes removed and preserved,” Lucilfer said, “but I feel that would take away their lustre. I have no interest in keeping them anymore, anyway. I’m sure you’ll find a use for him, however.”

Leorio swallowed. He reached for the wine glass. He didn’t like wine, but he needed something to do with his hands.

“Of course,” he said, after taking a good sip. “I wouldn’t have agreed to purchase him, otherwise.” Leorio tried to smile, but it felt brittle and fake, as fake as a plastic houseplant. From what Leorio had seen of Lucilfer’s home, he doubted he’d find a fake houseplant here. Everything was real—even the things Leorio wished weren’t.

“Don’t be shy, Mr Paladiknight,” Lucilfer encouraged. “Take a closer look. Touch, if you like. If everything is to your satisfaction, then we can conclude our transaction tonight.”

Leorio nodded, before taking another generous sip from his glass. He was proud that his hand didn’t even shake as he set it back on the table. He stood, suddenly aware that he towered over the much shorter Kurapika.

Still, the man refused to meet his eyes, though the man did not lower his face. He was probably too afraid of Lucilfer to disobey.

Wispy blond hair fell almost to his shoulders, sticking out at odd angles in a few places though it was clearly well cared for. His skin was pale and clear, remarkably free of bruises or blemish. His lips were full and pink. No makeup had been applied to his face, as far as Leorio could tell.

In another life, the man could have been a model, or a dancer. In another life, he’d have been a catch for any girl with an eye for a pretty face.

Unfortunately, the eye he’d caught had been one that meant him no good.

Leorio tipped the man’s chin up, studying his face. “Is he really seventeen?” Leorio inquired. The poor thing looked younger than that.

“He is, though I’m afraid I can’t offer any concrete proof of that other than my word,” Lucilfer answered.

Seventeen, with more than half of his life spent in captivity, being exploited and abused by the very man sitting inches away from Leorio. Leorio cupped the man’s cheek, feeling soft warmth beneath his palm. Something wet puddled against his hand.

There were a thousand things Leorio wished he could say. He wished that he could tell this man that everything was going to be different from now on. That he’d been searching for him for four years, ever since he first saw his face on his computer screen. From that moment, Leorio had decided that iff he could just save one—one person—then his friend’s death wouldn’t be a complete waste. If he could save one person, then he hadn’t completely failed Pietro. He’d decided that this young man would be that one person.

Maybe it was selfish of him to put all of his energy into a single case, but Leorio had wanted to prove to himself that he could complete something he’d set out to do. He’d tried, with Pietro, but that had ended when Leorio had to identify his body in the morgue. Too late.

It wasn’t too late for this man. Not yet.

“Everything looks to be in order,” Leorio said, hardly daring to hope. Would it be that easy? Would Lucilfer suddenly decide that no, now he wanted to keep his claret? Leorio didn’t think he could bear having to walk away after coming so close.

“Good. My staff will have him ready to travel in a half hour. We’ll sedate him, just to be sure that he won’t be any trouble for you.”

Leorio’s fingers slipped from Kurapika’s cheek. He forced himself to return to his chair. Lucilfer rang the bell again, and the butler returned to take the leash from Lucilfer.

Kurapika was led out of the room. He continued to stare ahead with the same terrified eyes. Leorio could only imagine what horrors were going through his mind.

“While we wait, why don’t I show you my wine collection?” Lucilfer asked.

“I’d appreciate that,” Leorio agreed, feeling as if he had no choice, though he wasn’t sure exactly what he was agreeing to see. Wine, or something of a much more macabre nature?

Leorio watched carefully as Kurapika was loaded into the back seat of his car. Kurapika was, as Lucilfer had said, sedated. He slept peacefully, handcuffs hidden beneath a blanket. He’d been dressed in a pair of shorts and a shirt. The clothes didn’t suit a seventeen year old, in Leorio’s opinion—and the handcuffs didn’t suit anybody, either.

As he drove down the road toward the highway that would take him back to the city, Leorio half-expected to be stopped. He still worried that Lucilfer would call him, say that he’d changed his mind—it really couldn’t be this easy, could it?

Leorio pulled over at a gas station. The parking lot was empty as the station was closed. He got out of the car, paced, had a smoke, eyed his silent phone, then paced some more.

Had he really done it? He opened the back door of the car to peek in on Kurapika. In the glow of the interior lights, Kurapika’s hair shone like gold. He still slept, bound hands at his mouth. Leorio realised that he was either sucking or nibbling on his thumb in his sleep.

Leorio fetched his phone from the console and made a call.

“Leorio?”

The anxious feminine voice on the other end of the line eased Leorio’s nerves.

“Melody,” he answered. For a moment, his voice caught and he couldn’t say anything else.

“Oh, no. What went wrong?” Melody asked gently.

“No.” Leorio reached for his pack of cigarettes in his pocket, then forced himself to leave them alone. “Nothing went wrong,” he said. “I’ve got him. I’ve got him, Melody.”

Leorio glanced back to the window of the car. He couldn’t see Kurapika through the glass, but he knew the man was still there, still sleeping like a child.

“That’s wonderful, Leorio.” Leorio could hear the laughter and relief in Melody’s voice. “I’ll be waiting for you at the house. Drive carefully.”

“Yeah.”

Leorio hung up the call, tears pricking his eyes.

He’d done it. He’d really done it. He hadn’t screwed everything up.

It would have been great if it had been Pietro instead, but at least it was someone. At least one less person would share Pietro’s fate.


End file.
